Apparently you have to do research before you take the Mach-E to a car wash for the first time

[shark]

So I took the wife's Mach-E to the car wash and quickly found out that Neutral on the Mach-E is not like neutral on an ICE powertrain. When the rollers tried to pull the car forward the car refused to move. The car wash guy was yelling at me to put it in Neutral and I was yelling back that it WAS in neutral. Somewhere along the way the dash screen told me to press "L" to put it into a 30 minute "tow mode", which allowed the car to roll. On the way out, with another car behind me getting closer and closer, I couldn't put the vehicle back into "D". I had to tap the brakes first before it would let me shift. Who knew that something I had done hundreds of times before in an ICE car would require such "tricks" to accomplish.

EDIT:
To summarize what I have learned is that this is all related to the Auto-Hold feature, which basically is like an automatic parking brake that is applied when the car comes to a stop, and is released when you tap the accelerator. Turn off Auto-Hold, or press the "L" button on the shifter when you place the vehicle into Neutral to allow it to roll. Auto-Hold was enabled for my profile, but not my wife's, I'm not sure which is the default. Now that I have played with it, I prefer Auto-Hold to be disabled as the car now acts more like an ICE vehicle transmission when the vehicle is idling. It will slowly roll forward when in Drive and you take your foot off the brake, same as it does in Reverse even if Auto-Hold is enabled. I don't understand why they implemented it so inconsistently, but they did.

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[Murse-In-Airy]

It’s very mode dependent and has been frequently discussed. Sometimes Neutral is neutral. I’ve had my wife get in her car and put it in neutral and been able to push her car out of the garage with her in it. There isn’t always a need for the “L” button. We’ve taken our cars to car washes a half dozen times and never used the L button.

 

[alexgorod]

No such problems with 1PD - neutral is neutral, the car is rolling, then switching to drive and pressing the accelerator moves the car.
The only unusual thing that I did once after the car wash was switching to 2PD to use the brakes and remove any leftover water from them.

 

[RickMachE]

It was likely the brake auto-hold that wasn't released... Yes, you should know how to get your car to roll free before going to a car wash.

 

[Logal727]

Pretty much every new ICE vehicle has a car wash mode now too.

 

[JohnnyForensic]

It was likely the brake auto-hold that wasn't released... Yes, you should know how to get your car to roll free before going to a car wash.

I had this exact problem yesterday. I was “thinking,” so I turned off 1PD and put it into Neutral (as I wasn’t getting out of the car, I didn’t need the L-Neutral).

The MME kept bouncing up the rail as the kid tried to get it to lock. At the exact same second, we both said “Auto hold maybe?” Sure enough, it was on. Turned it off, and the rest went swimmingly.

Actually, swimmingly may be apt. After exiting the car wash and vacuuming it out, I drove another mile or so to the grocery store to find a small puddle of water on my driver’s side floor mat by the pedals. It had to have come from somewhere, but I’ll be damned if I know where.

 

[JamieGeek]

Yup if you're using 1-P all the time just turn off auto-hold (1-P does that anyway).

In 1-P and Auto Hold off it does exactly as you'd expect: Pull into the CW and put in N, it rolls on through, at the end shift to D and drive off (no need to touch brake).

If Auto Hold is on then yes you have to do the N-L-Ok procedure and hit the brake pedal at the end to shift to D.

There is another trick, however, if you want to leave Auto Hold on: Don't let the car come to a complete stop before shifting to N. If it is rolling slightly Auto Hold won't grab the brakes. This would be something you'd want to practice in a parking lot first: How slow can I go and shift to N--don't want the car rolling too much.

I've used both methods but ended up simply turning off Auto Hold as I drive around in 1-P 99% of the time.

 

[Ex 2011GTCS]

So I took the wife's Mach-E to the car wash and quickly found out that Neutral on the Mach-E is not like neutral on an ICE powertrain. When the rollers tried to pull the car forward the car refused to move. The car wash guy was yelling at me to put it in Neutral and I was yelling back that it WAS in neutral. Somewhere along the way the dash screen told me to press "L" to put it into a 30 minute "tow mode", which allowed the car to roll. On the way out, with another car behind me getting closer and closer, I couldn't put the vehicle back into "D". I had to tap the brakes first before it would let me shift. Who knew that something I had done hundreds of times before in an ICE car would require such "tricks" to accomplish.

I take my car to a car wash every week and do the following. Fold in the mirrors, turn off 1PD, turn off auto wipers, leave key or phone if using PAAK in car, put into park, exit car and attach drivers seat belt again and tell attendant to leave it attached. When he moves it into the carwash and he puts it in neutral it will stay in neutral because the belt is attached. It only switches into park if the the drivers door is opened and no seat belt connected.
Same procedure works for my wife's ICE Acura MDX.

 

[generaltso]

I take my car to a car wash every week and do the following. Fold in the mirrors, turn off 1PD, turn off auto wipers, leave key or phone if using PAAK in car, put into park, exit car and attach drivers seat belt again and tell attendant to leave it attached. When he moves it into the carwash and he puts it in neutral it will stay in neutral because the belt is attached. It only switches into park if the the drivers door is opened and no seat belt connected.
Same procedure works for my wife's ICE Acura MDX.

That’s not enough if you have Auto-hold enabled.

 

[Mawby]

It was likely the brake auto-hold that wasn't released... Yes, you should know how to get your car to roll free before going to a car wash.

Was going to say auto hold too. Would cause issue. Maybe Ford can put "car wash action" . Or hey " please put on car wash mode".

 

[nvabill]

Pretty much every new ICE vehicle has a car wash mode now too.

Every One, I believe that might be a stretch but I'm all ears, please elaborate.

 

[Matt Bagne]

Doesn't anyone have a hose at home??

 

[Jimrpa]

So, I use one pedal drive and auto hold. Drive mode unbridled. Here’s what I do when I go to the car wash:

• Rummage around for the fob before I leave the house
• Drive to the car wash with the fob in the tray
• When I get to the queue at the car wash, confirm the wipers are NOT in auto
• When I get to the entrance of the tunnel, unlock the doors, turn the shifter to P, hop out of the car, and hand my car wash cars to the guy to scan. He scans the card and my car
• The guy hops in my car and pulls it into the tunnel after they do the first interior vacuum
• Car comes out of the tunnel, guy gets into the car and drives it to the drying area where they dry it off
• Another guy takes it to another area where they remove the mats and clean them, clean the interior and windows, and clean the tires
• They then drive the car to the pickup area

In all this time, there’s never been an issue with neutral ?‍

 

[Mach-Lee]

 

[silverelan]

Doesn't anyone have a hose at home??

it’s the middle of winter. In many parts of the country, garden hoses have been put away and spigots covered over with insulating foam for months now.

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